Amongst the sleeplessness and long cramped flights, it is easy to question why one would come some 6,000+ miles to travel another four hours on dusty, bumpy roads to then sleep with geckos at a foreign hotel. Tired, jet-lagged, surrounded by 80 percent humidity with the only relief being lukewarm showers coming out of a small spout in the wall, even I found myself wondering why am I doing this underneath my professional smile.
But then you wake up the next day slightly refreshed and head to the hospital. Seeing thatch dwellings with tarps for roofs and child street vendors nestled among the modern buildings on an “adventuresome” van ride in a sea of motor bikes, the mission starts to come back to you in eureka fashion.
By the time we reach the Dong Thap General Hospital in Cao Lanh, the 13 members and I are completely clear and excited about the work we have been given to do. And it is a gift. More than 150 families have come to give Interplast medical professionals their most beloved treasures, their children, for a couple of days. So desperate is their need for help that they are willing to completely trust these medical strangers in a hospital that is even foreign to the locals. And it is with humbling knowledge, this gift, that these volunteer doctors and nurses work tirelessly examining small patients.
But then you wake up the next day slightly refreshed and head to the hospital. Seeing thatch dwellings with tarps for roofs and child street vendors nestled among the modern buildings on an “adventuresome” van ride in a sea of motor bikes, the mission starts to come back to you in eureka fashion.
By the time we reach the Dong Thap General Hospital in Cao Lanh, the 13 members and I are completely clear and excited about the work we have been given to do. And it is a gift. More than 150 families have come to give Interplast medical professionals their most beloved treasures, their children, for a couple of days. So desperate is their need for help that they are willing to completely trust these medical strangers in a hospital that is even foreign to the locals. And it is with humbling knowledge, this gift, that these volunteer doctors and nurses work tirelessly examining small patients.
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